DIY Candy Sushi Tutorial – Great Birthday Party Idea

Lizzy turned 10 yesterday! I know it’s cliche, but time flies. Where is my baby? Who is this BIG girl who longs for skinny jeans and earrings?

happy birthday lizzy

We had a home party on Friday with some Rockband, hot dogs, cake pops and candy sushi. The candy sushi was the craft and the take home treat. Yes, I am a cheapskate.

candy sushi by mommyknows

The sushi was inexpensive and easy, more importantly the kids had fun. One child told me it was the best party she’d ever been to. I’m not quite sure if she’s been party deprived or an ass-kisser, but she certainly scored points with this mommy.

Here’s how it’s done:

rice krispie treats

I used this recipe to make up a batch of Rice Krispie squares. I added 8 extra marshmallows to the recipe to make sure they wouldn’t be too crispy. I used the microwave instructions, they worked perfectly.

trimmed

Once they had cooled, I trimmed up the slabs of Rice Krispie treats into nice neat rectangles and stacked them on wax paper for the party. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for the kids. Georgia and I enjoyed eating all the trimmings.

ready for the party

In the end, I made 3 full batches of Rice Krispie Squares one after the other, to get 8 thin slabs for the party and a couple of practice slabs for Georgia and I. It took about 20 minutes total.

I’ve never made candy sushi before, so I thought I’d better practice before I tried it out on the kids. As you can imagine Georgia was extra excited. I sat her across from me at the kitchen table and pretended she was the birthday party. I figured if I could get a three year old on a sugar high to make candy sushi, then I could handle a gang of 10 year olds.

Don’t roll it more than one full roll. You don’t want it to be too thick.

trim excess

Trim the excess with a sharp knife.

a better mom than I would have brushed her hair before now

Georgia was having a good time.

my mom rocks!

Make sure you allow snacking!

sticky sweet

Once you’ve trimmed the roll, wrap the fruit roll up around it (squeeze). Green fruit roll-ups would be best, but I couldn’t find them. I left the plastic wrap on my roll-up while I applied it to the candy, none of the kids bothered to do this. It works well both ways, just make sure to remove it before cutting.

adult supervision required

Now it’s time to cut your candy roll into to cute California roll style sushi. You’ll need a sharp knife to get through the gummy worms and twizzlers in the center. Georgia wanted to do it herself. I let her … practice makes perfect.

all 10 fingers intact

For all the worry-warts out there, the cutting was accompanied by repeated safety warnings. She survived the cutting with all of her fingers in tact.

pretty candy sushi

The nice thing about not finding green fruit roll-ups is the pretty product. I’m loving the colors.

candy nigiri roll

I made the slabs long enough for each child to make two rolls of candy sushi. They then used any leftovers to make a Nigiri style sushi. I also gave each of them a ‘bento box’ to take home their creations. It curbed the urge to eat it all.

I’ve made it to seventy and had a mom that let me play with all kinds of scary dangerous toys and sharp objects like scissors, with real points…and knives for Mumbley Peg etc. In fact most of my generation made it just fine.

We were taught to respect our toys, and our tools and were taught to use them properly. Unlike today, most busy bodys were too busy trying to raise their own kids instead of telling everyone else how to raise theirs.

@MommyKnows, I defenetly agree that this is a great recipe. My son is having his 5th bday in a few days and im making these for him. CONCERNED MOM is crazy and retarted. I dont know if i would have let my son use a knife at 3 but im a little parnoid myself. I think all kids need to be taught these things at a semi young age so they know how to do it. I will be teaching him how to do things like that this year. I think you did a fine job with the teaching of knife use. Supervised and gets to learn…great idea. No complaints from me. Keep doing what you do!

@CONCERNED MOM, WOW! Seriously?!?!?!… she was being supervised and had instruction..I say that it was an excellent learning opportunity… teaching her how to safetly use knives under supervision… I think it was an awesome idea and including your kids in the learning process — what more could you want? I included my sister growing up in the learning process in the kicthen and now she can make and bake all her own food from scratch and knows how to cook dinner if she wants too (shes 14)… she LOVES to be in the kicthen and cook food! I think its an awesome skill that so many kids are now deprived of its sad…….. cooking is a very valuable skill to have in this day an age! I say all credit to mommyknows……. And yeah… take the hint – get a life (and maybe allow your own kids if you have them freedom and space under supervison… its a precious and valuable gift!)

@CONCERNED MOM, haha OH NO! A CHILD WAS ALLOWED TO CUT FOOD!!! please call the cops! lol whateverrr. kids are a lot more capable of doing things than you may think. give a kid a chance to try things on his or her own. you would be suprised and amazed at what kids can do!

Wow I have to say “CONCERNED MOM” is going to have some very unwanted kids in society if they are as deprived as she sounds….back to whats important here….YOU are a awesome Mom with excellent ideas! Letting your kids partake in the preparation of their siblings social events only readies them for a very social life. We all know that this is a key to being very happy and fulfilled. “CONCERNED MOM” is the one that locks her kids up in their rooms and has laser alarms on their windows. They grow up hating her and society! DYFUS needs to be looking for her. What a loon.

Brilliant! I love it. What an awesome party idea. I think I may borrow it for grown-ups… :D

Ok, and you know you’re the best mom ever (except my mom of course, Hi Mom!). I know you won’t stress yourself over “Concerned Mom”‘s comment. It’s obvious that Georgia was supervised, had safety warnings, and had the joy of doing something for herself, learning how to be careful and developing her senses of independence, ability and accomplishment. Awesome lessons and something that both you and she can take pride in.

rel="nofollow">@John, I don’t understand this comment
at all. Kids would feel patronized by cooking?? My daughter and I
are making these right now for her International Day holiday party
at school tomorrow. She got Japan and we couldn’t find anything
Japanese to bring in, so we’re improvising on sushi with these
treats. So far, I think my base isn’t cooled down enough because
it’s pulling apart when I try to roll it, so I’m giving it more
time.

Looks like a sushi I might actually eat! I’ve never made rice krispie squares in the microwave, but then I think I’ve only ever made them once or twice in my entire life, and now that there are no little kids here, I guess I’m not likely to make them again. (Although I have bought a big box of them already made at Costco while my daughter was still here.)

I’ve never been tempted to even try sushi until now. This is such a creative idea and especially since you got all the kids involved. I’m going to give this a try at our next party. My kids are 17 and 16 now, but they still enjoy crafts and games. Our last party included making a gingerbread house.

Okay, that idea ROCKS! Well done! I’m definitely going to have try it! BTW, I’m new to your blog and I have to say… your photos are BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, either you’ve got some talent or an awesome camera (or both!). I love your site – the colours, the humour, the great pics – it’s a very professional look and feel. Keep it up!

Wow. This is such a totally cool idea! I came across your blog on StumbleUpon and I am glad I did. I have a DIY crafting and food blog, MerrimentDesign.com, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!!

I am fervently praying that Concerned Mom gets a life sometime REALLY soon…..like yesterday! Have you ever heard of parental supervision?? I pity the sheltered and deprived lives her children must be experiencing.

PS: to Concerned Mom. What is tragic is that YOU are a parent. Good luck to your kids. Unfortunately, luck alone will not prepare your misguided children to survive and most importantly, flourish!
Now I’m going to shovel the 2 feet of snow off the driveway because I’m still having difficulty believing that someone as irrational as you can make me so profoundly enraged……..i.e.P.O.!

ignore concerned mom.
people who have a bone to pick via internet comments are like cockroaches. or weeds. they just never go away. the more you acknowledge them the more it feeds them. i don’t know about my analogy here…. but you understand.

Oh my God! This is a brilliant idea! I am going back to my university on Monday and I had planned to make a spring cake for all to have, but now I am thinking candy sushi would be better (and probably healthier)!

Ah! I love making sushi, it is one of my favorite things to make, from start to finish, it’s just a lot of fun, esp in a group. It had never occurred to me that something like candy sushi could be possible. Awesome article! It would be really fun to try this as my next sushi throwdown, maybe advertise it as sushi with sushi candy for dessert!

Wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing. Might just have to try this out for my nephew’s birthday, if only I know where to get the fruit roll. Is there anything that I can use as an alternative if I can’t find one? – :)

That is such a darling idea – and a great way for the little girls to feel like grown ups. Of course you might need to give out a dentist referral to some of the moms after they finish all that candy, LOL!

That is so AWESOME!!!!! Thanks for sharing! It’s obvious that you knew you were going to get a “CONCERNED MOM” shouting at you, hence “Georgiaâ€™s ten-finger picture”.
Well done, I love it. I wish my brain would come up with stuff like this!

What a great idea, and so gracefully executed and documented. We always laugh about our little urban preschoolers being sushi fanatics already. Can’t think of a better activity for a 5th birthday party!

Hey! I made these in cooking class recently. They were a big hit with us even–and we’re all in high school ^_^
I remember I think I was the only one to make nigiri, though. Everyone else did just rolls. No fun for them :P

I stumbled upon this.. and I have 2 boys that will be THRILLED to do this. They love helping in the kitchen, and I can’t wait to try it:). I think the rainbow fruit rollups are a nice touch, very crafty!

Oh man – these are gorgeous! I am going to have a grown up girlie craft party over easter, and I think these might be the star attraction :0) Since I have all the ingredients in my cupboard for the crispies at the moment I’m having a seriously hard time resisting the urge to make them right now!

My friends and I have sushi night each week where we make our own sushi. We tried to make a “super serious” dessert sushi that failed, I wish we had made this candy sushi, it would have been super amazing, we will try this.

hi, this is my first time visiting your site. first, lovely photos! and second, this candy sushi is such a great idea. i’ll keep it in mind for my daughter’s 10th bday party (in 5 more years…sniff, sniff). they do grow up so fast!

i just made these last night for a monthly girls game night i am having with my 30-something year old girlfriends, we have a potluck and this month’s theme is ‘pan-asian’…they were so easy to make and are very tasty! i can’t wait to unveil my creations for everyone- thanks for the fabulous idea!!

Love it! I do worry about my hyperactive child when it comes to candy coma’s, so we made these with FRUIT (banana, strawberry, mango,papyaya, pears) and the fruit juice type of fruit roll up. If she is getting fruit, it totally cancels out the marshmellows in the rice crispies anyway (mommy logic trumps daddy logic anyday). IT WAS YUMMY! Thanks for the inspiration.

This is an adorable party activity and treat all in one! Anything that keeps kids hands busy and their minds engaged I am all for :). I am thinking I have got to share your idea with my readers for sure! Thanks for the awesome post and great how-to!!

All these sweets is delicious. I can’t wait to eat it. I don’t know how to make it but i will get it from the market when there will a party at my place. Actually prefer Oatmeal cookies when i want to eat something sweet.

OMG, YOU LET YOUR KIDS EAT CANDY?!?! HOW TERRIBLE!!!!! No, i’m just kidding! This sounds like so much fun!! I wish I weren’t diabetic ): These look yummy. But really just the RKTreats… i’m not much of a fruit roll up kind of candy girl. Now, if they could make chocolate that could go around the RKTreat like the fruit rollup, i’d be all in!!!

Mmm! I wonder if I can find what I need to make these here? I let my 3 year old son cut things, too . . . how are they going to learn, otherwise? HeÂ´s very careful and I let him cut up things like hot dogs and cooked veggies all the time. HeÂ´s never once cut his fingers.

hey, was just stumbling upon this, and it looks amazing. had to comment and tell you, this is something i can do with my girlfriend when i go to visit her, she loves to cook and do little craft things like this.

and, yet i cannot leave this alone either “concerned mom” sounds like my mom… your children will grow up to hate you if you act like this.

P.s. i recently became a vegetarian and i consider fish to be meat, so this is some sushi i can actually eat :)

Had to comment..Love this! I will be making this SOON! Don’t let “Concerned Mom” get to you, what a twit. I do wonder, though, if the “dental floss trick” would work for the cutting? Especially for larger, “not-as-easily-supervised”, groups like Scouts, or any kids with a disability (where desire to do as everyone else does may not match with ability or motor skills).. Guess I’ll try it…Great tutorial, great site!

hi i just wanna ask how to make the rice criespies square? i mean what did you used to make it bind? did you put any sugar in it or what? and by the way i enjoy this! i think its yummy! good job MOMMY :)

Thanks for the great idea!! What a yummy addition to our Japan unit study! My girls will love making these … and yes, I will let them use the knife! (how else would they learn?) lol. Just found your blog … looks like a great one!

What a great idea! I have seen pictures of this before but didn’t know how to make it until now. My son is only two now but I think he would love it! Definitely a possible idea for his birthday next year. Thanks for sharing!

I just wanted to let you know that this recipe made me queen of the bake sale this weekend. :) Everybody was impressed with how clever it was and I was sure to tell them that I saw it here first. Thanks!

My daughter is graduating from college, she has an unending sweet tooth, she’s allergic to fish, and ALL her friends love sushi. This will be the hit of the party! Thanks for a GREAT idea. I need to put my two cents in re: “concerned mom”. It’s a substantiated fact more kids get hurt cutting with inadequate, not-sharp-enough plastic knives! Back in the day, I taught every girl in my daughters’ Girl Scout troop the importance of safe knife handling. Guess what? These girls (with all their digits) still comment that learning cooking skills (including knives) in my kitchen all those years ago gave them a love of cooking that got them through those “first out on my own” college years. Teach them, don’t deny them, and they’ll be better prepared for the real world.

Ha,Ha Candy sushi. That is a really amazing idea. I came from Japan. I never thought of the candy sushi. I will try that for my daughter. She is going to be 7. I am not sure if she will like it or not. Anyway I will try…

It would be a fun idea to have a sushi party night for adults and kids. This could involve the kids helping to prep and make the candy sushi and the adults could learn how to make their own real sushi rolls.

Way cool i never thought of useing Rice crispies.. I have been using a light vanilla cake. and icing as a bonding agent..
very messy, this makes it seem a little less of a hassle if the wee people can do it..
.-= Gurhel´s last blog ..sculpting =-.

wow, I just stumbled upon this and found it to be a great idea! It’s funny…my boyfriend is deployed and he’s coming back in December and was saying how, when he comes back, the first place he’s going to go is to a sushi restaurant, because he loves and misses sushi. I think I might prepare this and send it out in a decorative tin as a little surprise for him before he comes back :)

That is so creative!!!
I loooove this idea and although my son is only two, I have a few friends with daughters who are getting close to the age of 6 and when we go out to have sushi they ALWAYS want to try it.
GREAT idea!

Loved this recipe! My 23 year old son found it and had me pick up the ingredients so that we could make a batch. (He even used a shape knife to cut the sushi with.) We had fun and the treat was so yummy I took a bunch to the preschool where I work and the kids loved them. I can’t wait to make another batch!

OMG this is absolutely genius. I love looking for little things like this to do with my boys, who ALWAYS want to “cook” something with me. Me and rice krispy treats don’t usually get along, but I’m going to try it just because I love this idea so much.

I absolutely LOVE this recipe! I write a recipe & party planning blog, and on Friday’s I typically just post links & tips. Would you mind if I link this onto my blog for others to use & enjoy? Thanks so much :)

thanks for the step by step instructions….love the pics with your daughter, along with the comment about her hair not being brushed…it made me smile. I will be forwarding this to my 20 year old daughter at college. Guarantee that she will make it this week-end. Thanks to you my 14 year old is now having sushi instead of cupcakes at her birthday party next week. :) You rock…by the way, my kids have handled knives from a young age…one is in nursing school, the other at the united states air force academy (with all their fingers) and a lot of responsibility because they were taught to use knives properly at a young age. Thanks!

I just stumbled onto your page while I was researching other portrait photographers who also shoot kids’ birthday parties. I love this idea, and now I can’t wait for the next reason I have to try it out. Maybe just the next rainy day!

Thanks for sharing. Your photos and explanation make it very easy to understand.

Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful idea. I work in a sushi restaurant and am trying to think of something to bake to take in for my work colleges and these would be perfect!
.-= Alice´s last blog ..åœ£è¯žèŠ‚å¿«ä¹ï¼ MERRY CHRISTMAS! =-.

i stumbeled upon this and thought it was great! we are going to make it for our “Eastern Elegance” formal for school, it will fit in perfectly!… and yes i mean university, and yes that means for people over 20.

turns out my kids just like rice krispy treats better.. though they did enjoy making the sandy sushi!
I think next time.. I will just do cake nigiri or jelly/cream roll sushi’s.. I think they’d like them better. Still the idea is cute!

What a cute idea! I’m going to attempt these for my son’s birthday next week. Thanks for all the photos and detailed instructions. Makes it easier for a “creatively-challenged” mom like me to follow along! :-)

Not just for little kids. I plan to make these for my son’s 30th bday since he’s a regular sushi fan. I can predict the eye rolls, but he expects the weird from me by now. Thanks!!! I learned about this from 2 class moms in a supermarket who were loaded up with Rice Krispies boxes, etc. and in reply to my commenting on the obvious – oh, RK treats? – filled me in on the sushi.

Wow, that is so cool and perfect for kids! I’m going to be a camp counselor this year for my church and looking for fun things the kids could do food based and I stumbled upon this and thank you so much for the article this is right up my alley.

Excellent blog! I actually love how it’s easy on my eyes and the details
are well described. next week is my sons birthday and I am sure that your post will help me to put some party candy sushies on the table with birthday cake.
Thank you!

Well,Birthday Party is most important foe the kids. All his/her friend enjoy the food,cake and do some ultimate dance also. I like to go birthday party because of food. Here give some snaps of rice krispie and candy. You just tale the snaps of yummy food. I like it dude.

[...] the website Mommy Knows (awkward site for a 20-year-old girl) came in. She posted a fantastic candy sushi recipe on her site, and it contained the best and most simple instructions on how to complete this treat. [...]

These are wonderful. My daughter would like to make them at her birthday party, with her friends. How far in advance can you make the rice krispie rectangles? Will they be to stiff if I make them the night before?

Wow! This is a very interesting recipe. My 2 kids will surely love it..However I think I have to skip the cutting part, I have a faint heart. LoL. Unless they are wearing a metal glove. However, I really think this is a good child development training. I think I might use this tips for my birthday party service activities. I’m excited by it. Thanks!

P.S. By the way Georgia is so adorable and lovely…every momma’s dream.

Can you prepare the rice krispies sheets ahead of time? If so, how many days ahead, and how do you store them to keep them plyable? I’m thinking of having this for teens and I am sure they are going to want to make more that 1 roll. Thank you very much.

What a fantastic idea ! I am definately going to be trying this, I am doing a kids party in three weeks time and will look forward to making some of these. I have already made some Orange Creamsicle Cake from Secret Recipe Menu review site but will now start creating some yummy candy sushi too ! Thank you for sharing this with us.

THIS WAS GREAT!!! We made both kinds of candy sushi for my daughter’s 10th birthday over the weekend – I tried to find bento boxes, but settled for tupperware with lids that I let the girls decorate with markers and stickers. It was great! We also made flower lollipops (melted lifesavers on popsicle sticks – VERY cute) and put them into little flower pots I found for $1 each at Target, and rolled pretzel sticks in chocolate, then in different sprinkles, let them dry, then packed them in cellophane bags and tied them with ribbons – and “painted” with jellybeans, using frosting on aluminum-foil covered foam board I’d cut into squares. The girls were so creative. It was really fun to watch them.

The only problem for me is, I made the rice krispies too marshmellowy, and probably didn’t let them cool and dry long enough, so the girls had a hard time rolling the sushi. I wound up having to make the sushi with each girl one-on-one while the others played and danced (we downloaded candy-themed music from itunes like tutti frutti and I’m a gummy bear, etc) But – THANKS for these great instructions and photos! We had a ball!

What a neat idea! My 9 year old loves sushi; this would be such a great party idea! I’m in the works of creating a lens on Squidoo based on sushi gifts, and I’m going to add a link to this in my link list.

I have a lot of admiration when I see posts by other people who will be more of an expert when compared with me on this matter. The audience might think the idea looks effortless, but there is however so much going on behind the scenes. Your work is a result of exploration and knowledge on your part and you were generous enough to share all of them with people like me. Thanks a lot.

Good day very nice website!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally¡KI am glad to find numerous useful information right here in the post, we need develop extra techniques on this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .

I love this recipe! I usually make traditional sushi at home and thats nice. I tried making this with gummy fish and I put a big gummy snake in the middle, yummy! My brother adored them, so thats a plus :D I also tried using chocolate fingers in one of them and that was good too! Thank you loads! xx

Great pictures! I actually love the colored fruit roll ups, too! I just made some this weekend at a Junior League volunteer event, but didn’t take any pictures. I blogged about your tutorial on my blog – thanks again!

This is awesome, how did you come up with this idea. I went ahead and tried it out the other day. I most have done something wrong the first time my rice krispy treats were either too dry or too thick, they cracked when trying to roll them, but the second batch turned out perfect and I will definitely be making these again.

Hi! I found your blog by googling “sushi candy”. After looking at several other sites, your is definately the best…great instructions, wonderful photos, and informative, entertaining writing! I am planning on making these for an “April Fool’s Joke” on my blog (“planning” being the operative word here). If it all comes together, I will link the idea back to your blog.

If you line cupcakes up, circling round on a covered board, you
can create a ‘caterpillar’ effect for a child’s birthday party.
Although they are a beautiful and calming sight, making sugarcraft flower-topped cupcakes from scratch conjures up anything but calm.
Use a hand batter and keep on batting the mixture
until smooth soft dough is formed.

After checking out a number of the articles on your site,
I seriously appreciate your technique of writing
a blog. I saved it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking
back in the near future. Take a look at my web site too and tell me your opinion.

What a fantastic idea ! I am definately going to be trying this, I am doing a kids party in three weeks time and will look forward to making some of these. I have already made some Orange Creamsicle Cake from Secret Recipe Menu review site but will now start creating some yummy candy sushi too ! Thank you for sharing this with us.

Your blog has caught our attention because of the quality of the recipes and the creativity you show in this particular recipe with the candy sushi! We would be delighted if you would join us at http://www.mytaste.com/ so that we could link to it.

myTaste.com is a search engine that compiles the best American cooking sites and blogs from the Internet. Several hundred blogs are already enrolled here and are taking benefit from the traffic we are sending to their sites.

I’m a foodie, a writer, and a photographer. I love to ski, hike and backpack. The tops of mountains are my favourite place to be. I am a Social Media junkie and strategist. I’m a ProBlogger and PR friendly.